Armed and Irish
by SilverGilded
Summary: The boys can handle their guns and save each others asses, but can they handle these two spitfires with a method all their own?
1. Came For The Party And Look Where We Are

"Lauren! Did you really have to call the man's mother a fat slut?" a frazzled girl grumbled in the corner.

Two girls were bound to separate poles in a musty cellar. They had just had a girl's night out that went really, really wrong. Two men had approached them at the bar and tried to get both girls to leave with them. After some grabbing and name calling, both girls were knocked out and woke up here.  
The other girl huffed and riggled a bit in the ropes.

"That bastard tried to grab my ass. Besides, you slugging the fat one was probably not a great idea Jessie." Lauren said to the other girl.  
Jessie scoffed trying to loosen her rope.

"He started it." Jessie prattled "Any luck?"  
Lauren shook her head and moaned degrudgedly.

"These fuckers must have been in the boy scouts." Jessie replied darkly and then a jump was made "That or this isn't the first time they have done this."  
"What I can't figure out is why they came up to us in the first place." Lauren said. "Don't you think it's a bit odd that they kept trying to get us to leave with them? What could they want with us?"  
Heavy footsteps interrupted the girls and they both whispered "Shit." in unison. Both their captors appeared in the light and the fat one that Jessie had slugged earlier had a shiner forming on his right eye while the one that Lauren had insulted glared at both of them.  
"Well ladies," the fat one said in a thick Italian accent. "You may be wondering why we brought you here."  
Jessie couldn't help herself as she whinced at the pain from being jerked.

"You bet your fat ass we are" she grumbled.  
The man glared and then stood in front of her. He swung his fist and it connected with her cheek with a solid _thud!_

"Watch your mouth!" he sneered.  
Pain exploded in her cheek and her head was pulled to the side.

"OW!" she yelled.

Blood flew from her mouth with a thick line dripping out between her lips. Jessie looked back at him and spit the mouthful righ in his face. He went flying backwards and tried to wipe the blood from his face.

"You bitch!" he yelled.

He came flying at her, but he never made it as a muffled _THEENK!_ echoed through the air. The man fell to the floor, holding his leg with blood seeping out of his leg.  
"Holy shit!" Lauren yelled as the shot rang out in the small cellar.

Their other captor pulled out a small handgun, but before he could even aim he was shot in the chest and fell dead, right in front of Lauren.

"Fuck!" she jumped, wanting desperatly to throw up as she tried like hell to struggle against her rope. "Jessie! Are you ok?"  
"Yeah, babe. I'm alright." Jessie said as her voice shook slightly, trying to pull on her ropes again.  
The fat man writhed on the floor, not knowing what to do except yell and scream.

"Fuck! My leg! I've been shot in the leg!"  
"No shit!" Lauren snapped angerly.

A small creek of the wooden stairs made her whorl her head around. She looked up to see 3 masked men enter the room with guns drawn. One ran to the bleeding fat man on the floor and sat him on his knees. He held the gun to the back of his head.

"Boys, check on the lasses." he said in a thick Irish accent.  
Both of the other men nodded and separated to check on both girls. The one that approached Lauren knelt before her.

"Are you ok lass?" He had a thick Irish accent as well.  
Lauren nodded. "I'm fine. My wrists are just messed up from this rope."

He nodded. He turned to the other man.

"Murph, toss me the knife!" He shouted at the other masked one.  
The one kneeling before Jessie nodded and pulled a knife from his coat. He tossed it to the other man. The one called 'Murph' looked back to Jessie, with blue eyes looking slightly worried.

"How are ye lass?" he asked.  
Jessie chuckled tiredly. "Been better. Who are you guys?"  
The man smiled. "We'll tell you later. What's ye name?"  
"Jessie. And you are Murph?" she asked, referring to when the other man said his name.  
He nodded. "Aye. Murphy actually." He looked at her face. "You're tougher than ye look. Are ye Irish lass?" reffering to her pale skin.  
Jessie laughed as her cheeks reddened. "Thirty percent. I'm also Scottish and Texan." she joked.  
"Isn't that quite a violent combination." he laughed.

"Murph, heads up." the other man said as he tossed the knife back.  
"I take it you guys are good. I hope." Lauren flashed a greatful smile.

"Aye lass. We are going to help ye, don't worry. What's ye name?" asked the nameless mask as the ropes went slack.  
"Lauren. What's yours Baby Blue?" She asked with a tease, catching the eye color of the man as she held her bloody wrists tenderly close to her body.

A crooked smile filled the mask, "Connor"

"_Piacere di conoscerti_" Lauren smiled again and looked to Jessie, missing the astomished look on his face.

When the girls finally got a look at each other they both girls tried to get up, but their bodies just weren't having it from sitting on their knees for nearly 4 hours. Murphy and the other guy looked at them and each bent to help the other. Murphy picked up Jessie and brought her over to Lauren, while the other helped pull the girls legs out from under herself, with a few animated faces of pain on Lauren's part. When they came in arms length of each other, they started to check each other to make sure they were both ok.

"Damn honey." Lauren said looking at her swollen cheek. "You need to learn when to shut up." she laughed.  
Jessie chuckled. "Never."  
"Boys, it's time." said the man that had the fat man on his knees spoke.  
Both men looked at each other and then they removed their ski masks. The one that had tended to Jessie had a pale baby face with dark brown hair. The one that was with Lauren was tanner and light blondish hair. They walked to the other man who had removed his mask as well. He was much older and had a grey-ish white beard and very tired eyes. He looked to the girls. "Close ye eyes, lasses."

All three men now had a gun trained on the back of the fat man's bald head and they began to speak in unison.

"And Shepherds we shall be  
For thee my Lord, for thee.  
Power hath descended forth from Thy hand  
That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command.  
So we shall flow a river forth to Thee  
And teeming with souls shall it ever be.  
In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spriritus Sancti."

With three of the same _THEENK_'s, the fat man was no more. When the echoe's died down, neither Lauren nor Jessie didn't turn to see. They knew what they would find.

Jessie turned to Lauren after the long silence and said "What do we do now?"  
The older man answered that for her. "You'll come with us lasses. If these men came after ye, it won't be safe for ye to be alone."

"They never told us what they wanted with us. Who are these guys?" Lauren asked, pointing behind them, slightly scared.  
Murphy replied, "Mafia under bosses. And what they wanted with ye, we are going to find out."  
Jessie was confused. "The Mafia? Are you serious?"  
The older man said, "Aye lasses and ye can call me Da, by the way," he smiled warmly.  
Lauren couldn't help but smile back. "I am Lauren and this is Jessie."  
They all three smiled. "We had better get going. Help them up boys" Da said.

As four of the five started their way up the stairs, the one straggler stopped them in their tracks.  
"Hold your asses guys!" Lauren barked  
6 baby-blues and 2 chocolate brown eyes shot her way and scowled confusedly at the odd-ball hazel eyes.  
"Wha's the problem, lass?" asked the lighter haired man, as he descended a few steps.  
"The problem is hanging from your hands," Lauren scoffed, pointing at the silenced barrette.  
All three men looked to their armed hands and back to Lauren, not seeming to see what the lady was talking about.  
"Jesus Christ," Lauren grumbled, "Jessie, a little help please,"  
There was a pause as the taller of the five thought about what the second tallest was talking about. Jessie stepped down and stood next to Lauren as she looked at what her friend was seeing and it finally downed on her.  
"There's a bar upstairs, guys. You can't be waltzing up there guns out in the open! The whole place will go crazy!" Jessie emphasized with broad hand gestures.  
"Thank you," Lauren spoke to Jessie and stared at the men matter-of-factly.  
The men still stood, staring wide eyed at the two.  
"In other words put the guns away," Lauren started when they didn't say anything.  
Still they didn't move.  
"Put the fucking guns away, gentlemen! Or we'll make you put them away!" Lauren spat, her patience finally waning thin.  
The three jumped at Lauren's out burst and started looking for a place to hide their weapons.

When they first came in through the bar, the guys were moving too fast for anyone to realize that they had any firearms on them. People were probably thinking that it was just a bunch of pissed off boyfriends looking for someone to beat, but now that there wasn't any hurry they were just going to walk out.

As they searched for hiding spots on their person, the men soon figured out that the guns couldn't be hid properly with the long silencers attacked to the ends. Jessie and Lauren saw their dilemma. They rolled their eyes and motioned for the men to give them the silencers. They were hesitant.  
"What are we going to do?" Jessie asked sarcastically, "Flog you with them? We can do more damage with a bottle of whisky than a piece of metal,"

Finally the men gave in and handed the girls the parts. Jessie slid her pant leg up, showing the calf-high combat boots that laced all the way up and stuck the silencer into the shoe. Lauren on the other hand took her brown hair out of her ponytail and let it fall past her shoulder, shaking it out.  
"Oh so sexy," Jessie purred playfully.  
Lauren rolled her eyes, but smirked anyway.  
"You think that's sexy, watch this," Lauren countered.

As she took one of the silencers from Jessie, Lauren reached for the back of her bra with both hands. Her already buxom chest stuck out farther then humanly comfortable as she kept reaching back. Lauren saw the men's faces turn a light shade of pink as they looked away, while Jessie just stood there; She had to chuckle at them all. While Lauren was messing with her bra, she slid the cylindrical tube of metal under the band and the silencer settled itself comfortable in between her shoulder blades. Lauren fiddled with her hair a little more to cover the bulge of the silencer at the base of her neck.

"You have no shame, do you?" Jessie inquired as she handed Lauren the other silencer.  
"Nope, not at all," Lauren answered as she slid the last one down the hip of her jeans, "Nice shoes by the way,"  
"Really? Thanks. They were on sale," Jessie smiled as their little act of being girly made them both chuckle.

As the girls looked up to the men, there was silence from the three on the stairs.  
"Well, come on guys. Lets get the hell out of here," Jessie shooed them up the stairs.

Again the men were startled into action and all Jessie and Lauren could do was chuckle. Lauren was the first to go up as Jessie raced to a wall and grabbed a bottle of wine, popping the cork with a quick jerk and dumping half of it onto the floor. Lauren waited as Jessie came up next to her and they both went up to one of the younger men and grabbed an arm, swaying a little drunkenly. The boys didn't say anything as they entered the smoke filled room of the dark bar and made their way through the crowd. Lauren couldn't help herself, if she was going to act like a drunk she was going to sound like a drunk.

"Jessie-Baby! Hand tha' stuffs this'ah way, Sweets!" Lauren called over the roar of the crowd, reaching annoyingly over Connor and Murphy to get the bottle.

Jessie smiled, almost seeming high as she handed the bottle over. Just as Lauren was about to take a swig of the bottle a burly hand shot out and grabbed her by the upper arm, sending a wave of shock through her body as she jumped. Lauren's scanning eyes landed on a skinny looking man with a beer-gut with bloodshot eyes. He was beyond drunk.  
"What's ah purrty lookin' Gal like yoo doin' wit dees bunch ah loozers?" the man slurred painfully.

But instead of answering, Lauren just brushed off the hand and they were on their way again, but that man wasn't giving up.

"Ay! Wha's you problem? Fuck you! Yoo couldn't handle dis if yoo wanted too SweetPea!" The man bellowed and Lauren stopped in her tracks, pulling everyone else to a halt

"Oh Shit!" Jessie started, smiling wickedly.  
"What did you call me?" Lauren spun around to the drunk, letting go of Connor's arm.  
"You're going to get it now," Jessie warned the drunken man, not seeming to care.  
"I asked you a question!" Lauren yelled, bloodlust seeping out with her words.

Lauren was right up in the man's face before anyone could stop her.

"Oi! Lass!" Murphy started and the brothers started to go after her, but Jessie grabbed their arms to hold them back. They both looked at her with an asking look of why she was doing this and Jessie just chuckled.  
"Just watch," Jessie said simple, pointing to Lauren.

As they turned around Lauren had already dumped the other half of the wine on top of the man's head and smashed the bottle against the bar. Everyone one in the bar was either cheering or sucking in a breath of shock. Just as Lauren took a few steps back, burly men stood up to defend the now-wet drunk. There was about 4 of them.

"Aren't yeh goin' to help 'er?" Lauren heard one of the Irish men ask.  
"20 bucks on you Lauren!" was all Jessie said for the answer.

Lauren just smiled and stuck out her tongue at Jessie as her answer. So juvenile, but this was their form of entertainment. As the 4 men backed her up, Lauren angled herself to the bar. Just as she felt the wood of the counter hit her back the men were about five feet away. One lunged towards her fast, but not fast enough that Lauren couldn't reach behind the bar and grab two bottles of cheap vodka and smash them on the side of the man's head. The bottles shattered and all hell broke loose as the other three ran towards her. Lauren bobbed and weaved out of the way of a punch and dunked down, taking her leg and sweeping out in a big arch. A man's legs were gone from out for underneath himself and he fell face first onto the floor. As Lauren stood up, another came after her and she turned the bottle around in her hand, jamming her fist and the neck of the bottle into the man's stomach. He doubled over and threw up as he fell. One more left and he was standing there with a scared look on his face. As Lauren turned the bottle back around in her hand, she looked to him and smiled evilly.

"You're turn," Lauren hissed for only the man to hear as she walked an extra foot to him.

Before the man could move, Lauren swung a long leg up and around into a full round-house kick and it landed right onto the side of the man's face, sending him flying to the side.

"That one was for you Jessie!" Lauren called.

"Thanks babe!" Jessie called back, but when she saw the man sneaking up on Lauren, she changed her tone. "Oh no you don't motherfucker!" she exclaimed, taking off and running towards him. She tackled him to the floor, pinning him there.

Lauren turned just as Jessie had him on the floor and laughed. Jessie grinned, looking up. "You didn't think I would let you have all the fun did you?" She turned the man over and punched him right in the nose. "Asshole!"

The brothers were really starting to wonder what they had gotten themselves into with these two little spitfires. They had pretty much proved that they could take down grown men without a problem. Da, on they other hand, was smiling on the inside. He believed that his boys had finally met their matches.

Both girls stood side by side to observe their mayhem. The cops would be showing up shortly, so it was a good idea to bail. "Ready?" Jessie asked.

"Yup yup." Lauren laughed. They both took off towards the boys and their Da. "Time to skirt it guys" Lauren said. The 5 made their way through the dense crowd to the bar's front doors. Once they were out in the chilling Boston air, the girls remembered that the men that had taken them had taken their jackets to search for stuff.

They looked and saw Murphy and Conner shrugging out of their coats. Murphy wrapped his around Jessie and Connor did the same to Lauren. Both girls couldn't help but giggle a thank you. "Won't you be cold guys?" Jessie asked.

"Na." Connor said. "You lasses are practically in nothing."

Both Lauren and Jessie blushed. "Yeah, we kinda do that alot." Lauren laughed.

Murphy chuckled. "Besides our apartment is really close. So we shouldn't be out too long."

The girls followed instep with the three. The brothers had pulled out cigarettes and smoked as they walked. They stayed relatively quiet. Reaching an old run down building, the men held the rickety door open so the girls could enter. Heading up the stairs, the 5 reached the door to the 3 men's apartment. Da slipped a key into the door and it clicked. He pushed it open, the others following in.

"Make yourselves at home." Da said. Connor and Murphy slipped into the kitchen, while the girls took in their surroundings.

The walls were a dingy white and the carpet was gray and dirty. They were filled ashtrays and empty beer cans all over. The furniture was sparse, with only a small couch and 2 chairs. A small TV with a wire antenna topped it all off. Lauren and Jessie slipped off the coats and hung them up on the hooks.

Jessie whispered, "You think it could use a woman's touch?"

Lauren chuckled. "Dear god yes."

The boys left the kitchen, both with beer cans. Murphy asked, "Would ye guys want one?"


	2. Casted in Iron

Jessie smiled something wicked as both girls walked right up to the boys, gabbed the beer cans out of their hands and pushed open the pop-tops with their bare thumbs, filling the room with the traditional _KAH-CHER!_ sound of air hitting the beer. The boys and their Da stood watching as Lauren and Jessie locked arms, staring at each other and the beer cans.

"Bottoms up!" Jessie announced loudly.

"Tops down! Lauren countered with the same volume.

And both downed the cans in one draft as the Irishmen stared at them with gaping mouths. After they were done, Lauren and Jessie held their cans out to each other, butt out, and smashed them so hard together that when they pulled apart their hands, Lauren was left standing with a lump of metal, while Jessie was empty handed. The room was silent as the girls walked around the small table to sit on the couch, Jessie producing a desk of cards out of nothing.

"You guys ever played strip-poker with a bunch of hustlers this hott?" Lauren asked with a glittering spark in her eye.

8 AND A HALF HOURS LATER

"_Her breath began to speak  
As she stood right in front of me  
The colour of her eyes  
Were the colour of insanity  
Crushed beneath her wave  
Like a ship, I could not reach her shore" _Lauren's phone rang and kept ringing into the small open apartment. The twangy voice of the Irish singer startled her from her caddy-cornered position on the couch were she fell asleep a couple of hours ago. Clamoring onto the floor, stumbling over herself, Lauren was finally able to answer her phone.

"'Llo?" she tried to speak.

After a few moments of listening, she closed the phone and drug herself back to the couch and kicked Jessie, who was just as haphazard on the couch. The twins were a little worse for wear. Murphy was in nothing but his boxers and a pair of black socks, while Connor had lost his shirt and his pants were at the beginning stage of being unbuttoned. The girls were completely dressed.

"Jess, get up," Lauren kicked Jessie again and she finally stirred.

"Wha'?" Jessie mumbled, struggling to move.

"Get Murphy's hands out of your crotch. We got a job,"

Jessie looked down with a puzzled look on her face, finally realizing that Murphy was pretty much laying on top of her. How he got there, neither Lauren nor Jessie could tell you.

'_I don't even think he could tell you,'_ Both girls thought.

Rolling her eyes, Jessie pushed Murphy off onto the floor and he fell with a heavy _THUD!_

"Fuck! Wha' was tha'?" Murphy slurred, holding his head.

After Murphy's outburst Connor popped out of his dead sleep on the coffee table, his eyes nothing but blue blurs. Now it was Lauren's turn to roll her eyes. Last night was crazy and confusing as all get out, but they couldn't get hung up on it. The girls had a life to survive and to cower was not in their blood; it never got anything done and it never will. They had an image of life being like a women with a cast iron frying pan; temperamental, dangerously good aim and you best be running faster than that frying pan or it's going to catch up to you.

"What's goin' on?" he asked the girls as they walked around gathering what little belongings they had.

"Sorry to hustle and run loves," Jessie yawned and stretched, "But it looks like we gotta,"

The boys looked at them blankly and in one split second, both of them bounded to their feet, unaffected by the usual hangover, and started talking at once. Even the girls startled back a step.

"What'd ye mean you're leaving! Ye can't leave!" Murphy started, with Connor following right behind.

"Are ye two lasses suicidal! You can't go out dere! Whoever is after ye is going to follow yer every step!"

"Don't you think we know that!" Jessie started in.

She truly hated it when someone accused their life as being dangerous. They had no idea what dangerous was.

"We should have proved to you last night that we can handle ourselves. We're truly grateful that you boys got us out, but-"

"Tha's Enough!" boomed a voice into the room.

There was silence as the girls turned around to see Da standing fully dressed and ready to go. He had such a stern look on his face that even the boys were subdued.

"Now, tell me lasses. Wha' job is wort' risken yer life fer?" Da asked simply.

The girls were silent as they stared at Da, unable to answer right away.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it a job," Jessie stated.

"More like a life style," Lauren continued, "It's a dangerous one, we'll give you that. But we live it and we survive. Backing up into a corner never did that."

Da was silent as he listened to them. The girls could tell that the boys wanted to argue, but the presents of their dad was preventing them. As Da mulled over what the girls said, an idea popped into his head.

"Ya, I'll give ye t'at girls an' I'll even give ye t'at ye might fight better dan me boys; maybe a little dirtier, but who's te wiser?" Da stated and the girls were starting to get worried, "Since I can tell yer not goin' te tell me what yer _job_ es, I have to persist t'at ye take me boys along,"

"WHAT!" Lauren busted out, her face red with rage and her puffing out in defense.

"You just said we were better fighters!" Jessie protested, while she stepped in front of Lauren.

"Ay, I did. But t'at doesn't mean ye can't learn a few t'ings from me boys m'lady" Da countered.

Again silence filled the room. Lauren and Jessie turned to look at the twins and all they could do was cross their arms over their chest. They weren't dumb. They knew that they would be better off with the boys around, but they were so used to just the two of them. They've been living this way since they were moved here nearly ten years ago. They had to make a decision fast; they were running out of time.

"What happens if we don't want them to come?" Jessie asked without looking away from Connor and Murphy.

"Then I can't let ye go out at all. We have ways of restraining that is quite affective dears," Da told them flatly.

"Fine," Lauren shot out, "Come on. We're already late,"

And it was done. Jessie and Lauren made a B line to the door, not waiting for the twins to gather the clothes they had lost the previous night. The yelled after them, but they were already half way down the stairs and heading to the door. When the girls were outside, they waited for the boys. Lauren dug out her phone and held the speed dial button. It rang once and someone picked up just as the Murphy busted through the doors, followed by Connor.

"Yeah, it's Lolly. We got a few stragglers tagging along. We'll be there soon," and Lauren hung up, the tiny screaming voice of a man being cut short.

Connor looked at her with a type of shock that Lauren couldn't place.

"Lolly?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lauren just scowled at him, not quite sure if she was hurt or angry or what she was hurt or angry about, and snapped around to walk back to the bar that they exited last night, her high heeled shoes clomping loudly as she stomped down the road. Jessie sighed and started to walk at her own pace; there is no help for Lauren when she gets like that. As she walks, Connor and Murphy follow right beside her in silence. There was a slight shift in Connor's attitude that Jessie picked up on instantly.

"She doesn't mean it, honey," Jessie told Connor, "She just can't figure out any other way to vent her frustration other than through . . . _that_"

"But I don't understand. Why's she like that all of a sudden?" Connor asked quietly.

"She's aggravated. The whole situation of you boys coming along puts everything she knows against herself. Lauren is someone who would rather get herself in trouble, get herself hurt or even killed, before anyone else. And you, Connor," Jessie pointed out, "You calling her by her street name is probably the biggest insult you could have given her,"

Connor's face dropped and filled with shock that he couldn't help but stutter.

"That name is a past that she never wants to revisit and it represents someone she truly hates. Even I don't know the full extent of it," Jessie said, looking Connor straight in the eye, "But lucky you, you didn't know that, so there really isn't a need to apologize. Just don't do it again, because she'll assume I told you."

Jessie gave him a small pat on the shoulder and walked a head of them to catch up to her friend. Connor stared after her, but not really looking at her as he turned over and twisted and flattened out what Jessie had told him. Murphy watched his brother intently as the thoughts covered Connors face. He had only met this girl last night and Lauren was already affecting him. It normally took weeks to months for anyone to do that to Connor.

"She's getting to ye," Murphy told him.

Connor snapped his eyes back into focus and blinked at his brother.

"Yer fallin' for de girl," He said again, with a small smile on his baby face.

"What! No I'm not, you eejit. If I'm fallin' fer Lauren, den your fallin' for Jessie!" Connor blurted and Murphy stayed silent with that same smirk on his face as he kept walking up.


	3. Only Right Can Do Wrong

"Hey," Jessie muttered as she touched Lauren's arm to get her attention.

For a split second Jessie saw the anger and hurt that bubbled inside her best-friend and was tempted to gather Lauren up in her arms to keep her safe or incase Lauren fell apart in any moment. But no such luck. That glance was gone as soon as it was seen and the tough-as-nails, thick headed, Italian-German-Scottish-Englishwoman was back to her supposed self. Jessie couldn't help but sigh at the whole thing. There wasn't anything she could do and it was one of those perfect points where Jessie found herself between a really BIG rock and an extremely inconvenient hard place.

"Yeah?" Lauren asked Jessie as she kept staring at her.

Jessie passed a glance to the boys that were quickly catching up to them and landed her eyes back to Lauren.

"Why you gotta be like that to Connor?" was the only question that Jessie finally gave into asking, "He's been nothing but nice to you and me. They're both just following orders and to give us an extra hand like they did last night. I know we can handle ourselves, but it's always nice to have someone on the outside to blow the cell doors wide open."

Lauren couldn't help but chuckle at that comparison, but deep in her gut she knew Jessie was right. She didn't want to believe it, because if she did it would spin her outlook on everything into something that would send a conspiracy-theorist into an upward spiral.

After taking a glance to see how much more time they have before the boys could hear them, Lauren started to rub her eyes and gave an exacerbated sigh.

"I don't know," Lauren started, even though she knew full and well what the answer was and that was when the anger bubbled over, "We've been at this for 10 plus years Jessie. Both of us have seen and done shit that no one should ever even have to imagine. You know for a damn fact that doing this, having these guys tag along with us, goes against me AND you. So don't act like you're ok about everything. I am grateful for what they did for us last night, but the gratuity stopped when they cut the ropes around our wrists. I know they are following orders, but there was nothing in that agreement that said I had to make it easy."

At with that Lauren turned on her heels before the boys caught up and headed into the bar. At that moment Jessie could have put Lauren in a headlock until she turned blue, but she was already through the door. If Jessie was a cartoon, this would be the comic relief were steam came out of her ears and her face was red-hot.

"GOD DAMN IT LAUREN!" Jessie cursed at the door and stamped her heavy boot on to the pavement.

"Wha's wrong Jess?" Murphy hurried up next to her and grabbed her elbow to make her look at him.

"I Swear to God! She Makes Me Wanna Pull My Own Hair Out Sometimes!" She kept going as she started to physically yank at her head.

"Calm down lass," Connor started, "So wha' were ye talkin' about t'at made ye so explosive?"

Jessie gave an ominous burst of laughter and stared at Connor like it was his fault that her friend was being a complete hard-ass.

"Lauren may not have said it outright, but if you knew her as long as I have she reads like a book," Jessie explains, "You must have done something right Connor, because she has fallin' for you and fallin' for you hard. She fucking hates it."

Connor couldn't help but be speechless. He kept blinking at Jessie like he couldn't believe what was being said to him. The lines were repeating over and over in his ears, but nothing was even grabbing hold in his brain. Connor had to struggle to keep it in the forefront of his mind or there was a terrible feeling that it would slip away into the dark. The dirty-blonde twin looked to the door, then to Jessie and then back to the door and then to Jessie again. A loud snap echoed in his ear and a hard tap to his head brought him back into the world.

"Breath, Connor, breath. That is what your lungs are for," His brother shook him a bit.

Air rushed into Connor's lungs and the next thing he knew, Connor was being drug into the bar where he saw Lauren leaning on the counter, examining the floorboards with the intent to burn a hole through them. Her cell phone was in her hand again. A call came through and there was only enough time for it to flash once before she answered it. Lauren didn't say anything on her end, but after about a minute she hung up. When she looked up, Jessie was giving her a look that neither of the boys have seen yet. It was almost like a look of dread mixed in with a sense of power.

"That was Casis. He said Chilo has the list and should be here within the hour." Lauren posted like an automated machine.

All Jessie did was nod her head and sat in a booth across from where Lauren was standing. The twins filed in alongside Jessie and then Lauren after a quick order to the bartender. There was an awkward silence between the four of them, but neither one of them was going to poke the raging pink elephant in the middle of the room. Murphy and Connor fidgeted something awful while the girls sat perfectly still staring at their hand or somewhere in space. The boys contemplated on what to say, when a tray of drinks passed under their noses and from the contents of the order, you would have thought that this bar stole half of Ireland's beers, drafts, liquor's and whisky.

"Does Ireland know you have all their shit?" Jessie questioned with a raise eyebrow.

"I figured we could use a pick-me-up," Lauren answered.

"You know alcohol is a depressant, right?" Again Jessie asked.

"Exactly," was all Lauren had to say for everyone to shut up and drink.


	4. 2 for Valium

Shot after shot and draft after draft, Jessie, Lauren, Connor and Murphy kept drinking; Lauren and Connor more so than Jessie and Murphy. In less than 20 minutes only about 3 shots and half a beer was left. Connor and Lauren was piss-faced drunk, but they were never going to show that while Jessie and Murphy suffered through a light buzz. The pink elephant in the room seemed to fade into the background, but that begs the question how much can a pink anything fade back? Lauren's face was flushed and her eyes beamed bright red as she downed another shot, nearly falling out of the booth from tipping her head back to far. After a quick save from Jessie, she righted herself and slammed the shot glass onto the table.

"I thin' I need 'nother drink," Lauren said and then looked up at Connor, "I definitely need 'nother drink,"

"Hey! Es not my damn fault ye. . . FUCK!" Connor jumped in pain, grabbing a hold of his shin underneath the table.

Connor scoped the table to find Jessie giving him a hard stare, with her lips pinched tightly together. It was a warning, but he was too drunk to take it and lucky enough Lauren was too drunk to even notice he even said anything. Her eyes were roaming around the body of the bar until she landed on someone that just walked through the door. Apart from two features, he looked like any other guy from the bottom scums of Boston looking for a drink and a good time, but what stood out at first was the guy's hair. It was black with a natural white skunk-stripe going through the side. Yet he couldn't have been more than 23 years old. The next thing was when he finally looked up and the twins nearly jumped out of their seat. The guy had one eye that was black from pupil to iris and the other was blue to point of it nearly seeming fake.

After spotting him, Lauren turned back around with a distasteful look and buried her face in her hands, groaning loudly into her palms.

"You wanna take this one for me?" Lauren asked Jessie with a little bit of hope leaking through her fingers.

"Uuu, No! I took the last two from you. I don't care how shit-faced you are. You pissed me off out there, so you're making up for it," Jessie told her flat-out.

Lauren's head fell to the table with a loud _THUD!_ and let out a guttery sound that didn't reach passed the shot glasses. After pulling at her hair for a minute, Lauren finally sat up and stretched. She rubbed her face vigorously to clear the alcohol from her mind and pushed down her frizzing hair, smoothed out her shirt and hopped out of the booth. Connor and Murphy watched her go with a puzzled look. She was walking to the guy with the two different eyes, adding a slight sway to her hips and a swing in her shoulders.

"Wha's she doin'?" Murphy whispered to Jessie, not wanting to disturb his brothers rude staring.

"That's Chilo. He's the guy that delivers all our information to us. About 12 years ago we cut a really bad deal and we got stuck with him along with all his _perks_," She sneered through the last word.

Murphy gave her a questioned look and then looked back to Lauren who was leaning on the bar, dangerously close to Chilo.

"The guy is a pig," Jessie spat and received a shocked look from both twins, "Just watch,"

So they did. They turned back around and watched the mystery unfold. Lauren was still leaning on the bar, but this time she was talking to him. Her face was all smiles that reached up to her eyes as Lauren's body moved and swayed to the beat of the bar. Chilo eventually got up off his stool and turned his body to face her, while he dipped down to talk to her nearly face to face. He grinned widely as his eyes roamed up and down Lauren's figure, biting his own lip every now and again when something popped into his mind. As soon as Connor saw this he bounded out of his seat, but was jerked back by both Jessie and Murphy.

"What de fuck does he t'ink he's doin'!" Connor cursed as he tried to wriggle out of their grips.

"I told you!" Jessie countered and finally gave him one last push to set him back in the seat, "You think that is bad? It gets worse."

At this point, the regret in Jessie's face was what filled her features as she watched her best-friend get hit on. As the three sat in their booth, Chilo started to pull at Lauren's arm to stand her up straight. Chilo was just a little taller than her, but not by much. Putting her arms around his neck, Chilo cradled Lauren's back loosely as he bent in a little closer and then was finally on her face and lips.

Jessie groaned through a frown, while watching Connor go nuclear in his seat. His face was bright red, his brow folded in a heavy scowl while his mouth pulled back into a sneer. No one said anything as they kept watch.

Chilo kept kissing Lauren and pulling her even closer to him. His arms became tight around her middle as they slowly slid down and around her ass. . .

"Come on. We're done," Jessie said flatly and stood up quickly.

"Hey, hun!" Jessie called out happily as she gave an amused, "Stop making out and let's go. We're late for the movie"

Lauren jumped back and giggled like a little school girl that got caught behind the bleachers.

"You know there is always 10 minutes of previews," Lauren called back but pulled away from Chilo anyway.

As Lauren walked back she looked as happy as could be, but as she got closer and closer to the booth the smiles melted away, the sexual spark in her eye was gone and a look of disgust was what came back when she met up with Jessie.

There was silence as Jessie handed over Lauren's coat. She couldn't meet anyone's eye and her face was red with embarrassment, but she slipped on her coat anyway.

"Let's go before he decides there is something he forgot to give me," Lauren spoke darkly.

And then they were out the door before the bell chimed for happy-hour.

Lauren stayed a head of everyone and when they were far enough away that the bar couldn't even be seen, everyone stopped. They all gathered around Lauren in a loose circle and the only thing that she could think of doing was to spin around towards the curb to spit out the glob of Chilo's saliva. Jessie, Connor and Murphy all cringed as Lauren wiped her mouth off with the back of her shaking hand.

"You a'right?" Murphy asked and patted her gently on the back.

Lauren shook her head and her eyes started to water. Her face was pale and she was sweating a little bit in her hairline.

"No not in the least. I actually want to throw up right now," She told him, spitting a little bit to her side as she reached to her back pocket and pulled out a folded envelope.

"Here," Lauren handed over the envelope to Jessie, "I can't even see straight right now,"

Jessie pulled open the seal of the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper and a paper-clipped stack of bills. Before she even unfolded the letter or counted the money, Jessie tipped the rest of the contents onto her hand and two 5 MM bullets clinked into her palm.

"We got two," Jessie said half-heartedly.

"Fuck," was the only thing that Lauren could wheeze out as she bent over her knees and threw up in the street drain.

Jessie raced over to hold Lauren's hair back while she rubbed her back as she listened to her gag and cough. Connor and Murphy stood there like a bunch of fools that didn't know what to do, which was pretty much what was happening. There really isn't much someone can do when someone throws up. Once Lauren finally stopped and was able to get a breath, tears started to run down her face.

"God! This fucking hurts!" She grunted through her teeth, "I think I might have to go to the hospital."

Jessie gave Lauren a look of worry and started to rub her back a little faster.

"What did he give you this time?" She asked darkly.

"He had an ammonium packet in his mouth. He broke it right before you got up," Lauren choked through.

"Ammonium? Why de hell would he 'ave t'at?" Asked Connor and he bent down to look her in the face.

"Remember those perks I told you about?" Jessie asked, "Well, that's one of them. He does it to prove a point; that he can bring any girl to her knees. What was mine? I can't remember. I think I was on the floor before we even left the hotel lobby."

Lauren gave a painful laugh and coughed again.

"Valium. He spilled you valium that time," Lauren confirmed raggedly.


	5. Nursed Confession

A scared laugh circled through the group as they eyed Lauren with worry on their faces. She was getting paler by the second as her body started to shake more violently. The gagging stopped and so did the coughing, but wheezing replaced it. Connor and Jessie were looking at Lauren's face and saw that her eyes weren't focusing.

"Babe?" Jessie said, trying to get Lauren to look at her as fear leaked through her voice.

Lauren didn't answer. Connor noticed her eyes go blurry and fog over. With in that same moment Lauren's eyes rolled to the back of her head, her legs and arms gave way and she toppled like a ragdoll. Neither Jessie or Connor or Murphy was fast enough before her head made solid contact with the curb. Jessie gave a light squeal as both Connor and her scrabbled to turn Lauren over.

Blood had already started to puddle under Lauren's head and run down the side of her face. Jessie started to unravel her coat from around her waist as Connor and Murphy began to pick her up. But Jessie pushed them back a little and wrapped the jacket underneath Lauren's neck.

"She hit her head. It will stabilize her neck enough until we get to the apartment," she explained as she started to help the boys pick her up again, "Just be careful"

The idea that both twins carrying her wasn't sitting well when they saw that Lauren's head wasn't being supported, so Murphy helped Connor nestle her right against his chest. His heart was racing at how close she was to him. Heat started to rise to his face, but there wasn't time to be embarrassed as they raced as fast as they could to the apartment. Lauren was cold and getting colder by the minute. Her eyes were still partially rolled back and she was mumbling nonsense against his shirt.

"Hold on a li'l longer, Lauren. Jus' a li'l longer," Connor whispered to her as they kept running.

Fear was finally setting in right in the middle of Connor's chest and the world seemed to collapse around him. He didn't even remember going up the stares or even reaching their building, but they some how reached the apartment and Connor carefully laid Lauren on the couch. As everything seemed to slow down, the twins looked to Jessie who was chewing on her thumbnail. Feeling the pares of eyes on her, she stopped and looked up.

"What! I don't have all the answers!" She confessed.

"Well, we got te do somet'in!" Murphy started.

Jessie palmed her eyes as she groaned in distress and popped out of it with an idea.

"Stop the bleeding! We need to stop the bleeding before we do anything!"

And the boys jumped into action. Wet rags and dry towels were thrown across the apartment as they all found anything that they could use to dampen the flow of blood. As Jessie ran back to Lauren with a handful of everything they found, she started to apply pressure on the open wound on Lauren's head.

"We got any rubbing alcohol or sutures?" Jessie asked as she pulled away the towel to see how bad the cut was.

"We have vodka and needle and thread," Connor called out.

"That's going to have to do. Pour out a cup of vodka and dip the need and thread in it and then soak a rag in the rest."

The blood was finally slowing down, but wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Murphy came up to her side, handed her a pair of black gloves and the cup with the submerged need and thread. Pulling the rag away, the twins finally got a chance to see the three inch diagonal gash stretch across Lauren's temple to her forehead. Jessie pulled on the gloves and pulled out the needles, squeezing off the excess vodka and started to sew the gagged pieces of skin back together.

"Where ye learn te do dat?" Murphy asked as he eyed her steady hands.

"I was on my last trimester in medical school to becoming a nurse," Jessie spoke with a bionic tone as she focused on her friend.

"If yer a nurse, why ye in the slums o' Boston?"

"I never said I finished medical school," Jessie pointed out.

Murphy gave her a funny look, "What happened to dat prospect of a career?"

"Lauren is what happened," was all Jessie was going to say until she was done with her friend and that was when Murphy decided to take a step back, letting her deal with what needed to be done.

About an hour and a half went by and Jessie finally stepped away, pealing off the bloody gloves and tossing then to the side. She came over and sat on the floor between the brothers, who were sitting in their individual chairs. They watched Lauren for a few moments, following the slow rise and fall of her chest in the dimming light of the apartment.

"Lauren was never the one to lie down and take any kind of shit, but she always knew when she was over her head. One day she comes running into my clinical scared out of her damn mind. She looked like hell. Her eye was black, legs and arms all cut up, dripping with sweat; she looked like she had been running for hours and the only thing that she kept saying over and over again was 'they found me' I didn't ask anymore questions after that. That was 10 years ago. That night at the bar we thought we were done with all of this. We thought we got them all. We thought we covered our tracks, but I guess we screwed up somewhere. There are some days that I regret following her without any kind of explanation, because if I knew. . . If I only fucking knew," Jessie's voice faded off as she closed her eyes, leaning her head on the wall.

"Jess, ye know fer a fact that ye would have gone wit her, wit or wit out an explanation," Murphy started, "Everyone can see how close ye two are. Not even an army could break ye apart. But fer de sake of asking. . ."

"Who is she?" Connor piped in, still looking at Lauren.

Jessie smiled and started to giggle. The giggles became uncontrollable, morphing in a hysteric laugh that shook her into tears. The twins looked at her with a raised eyebrow, wondering what the hell was so damn funny.

"I think you mean who are WE. She's not the only one who is hiding from a past. To put everything into a short and slightly simple story, we're mob queenpins."

The twins copied a dubious look and planted it right onto Jessie.

"Queenpin?" they asked.

Jessie rolled her eyes and looked at them both.

"Fine, semantics; we're kingpins. We run three of the largest mobs that stretch from coast to coast of the United States and ends somewhere in the middle of Europe,"

Again, the twins kept looking at Jessie in stunned silence.

"WHAT!" They both chimed in at the exact same time.

* * *

**Comments are greatly appreciated :3 pwetty pwease ;)**


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